Palletizing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for palletizing elongated generally rectangular articles according to the present invention comprises a frame work disposed adjacent a powered feed conveyor provided for conveying articles serially in linear manner to a shuttle conveyor carried by the frame work. The shuttle conveyor is operative, responsive to a tier pattern being developed and also responsive to the presence of an article, to selectively shift the article laterally from a neutral position to locate selected ones of the articles laterally with respect to the original line of movement thereof. Apparatus is provided to lift and rotate selected ones of the articles and reposition the artcles on a transfer conveyor also carried within the frame work. The articles are transported by the transfer to a tier forming section where they are collected into a tier of selected pattern. The tier is then lifted and transferred to a loading section where they are stacked either upon a pallet or upon a mirror image tier of articles previously stacked onto a pallet. As the articles are engaged by vacuum heads carried by various article lifting rotating and transporting devices, plastic film from which the container is composed is pierced and the film container is evacuated to conform it to the article configuration and therefore facilitate neat and structurally secure palletizing of the tiers of articles.

ilte tates ateiit 1 Qox et al.

[ Sept. 11, 1973 PALLETIZING APPARATUS [75] Inventors: Thomas L. Cox,Beaumont; David G.

, v Rodriguez, Vidor, both of Tex.

[73] Assignee: J & J Manufacturing Company,

Beaumont, Tex.

[22] Filed: Mar. 12, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 123,731

52 Us. Cl. 214/6 P, 198/33 AB, 214/6 FS [51] Int. Cl. 865g 57/04 [58]Field of Search 214/6 P, 6 H, 6 FS,

' 214/6 A, 6 DK, 6 G 198/33 AB [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,587,876 6/1971 Dahlem 214/6 P 3,164,080 1/1965 Miller, Jr214/6 P X 2,841,433 7/1958 Pagdin et a1.. 214/6 PS X 3,568,859 3/1971Truesdell 198/33 AB X 3,262,594 7/1966 4 Teago 214/6A 3,589,495 6/1971Pearne et al..... 214/6 A X 3,085,696 4/1963 Stainforth et a1. 214/6 P3,294,257 12/1966 .Davies et a1 214/6 P 3,278,048 10/1966 Bruce...., .L,214/6 P FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,154,218 6/1969 Great Britain214/6 P Primary Examiner-Robert A. Spar Att0meyArnol d, White & Durkee,James L. Jackson,

Tom Arnold, Frank S. Vaden, III and Robert A. White [57] ABSTRACTApparatus for palletizing elongated generally rectangular articlesaccording to the present invention comprises a frame work disposedadjacent a powered feed conveyor provided for conveying articlesserially in linear manner to a shuttle conveyor carried by the framework. The shuttle conveyor is operative, responsive to a tier patternbeing developed and also responsive to the presence of an article, toselectively shift the article laterally from a neutral position tolocate selected ones of the articles laterally with respect to theoriginal line of movement thereof. Apparatus is provided to lift androtate selected ones of the articles and reposition the artcles on atransfer conveyor also carried within the frame work. The articles aretransported by the transfer to a tier forming section where they arecollected into a tier of selected pattern. The tieris then liftedandtransferred to a loading section where they are stacked either upon apallet or upon a mirror image tier of articles previously stacked onto apallet;

As the articles are engaged by vacuum heads carried by various articlelifting rotating and transporting devices, plastic film from which thecontainer is composed is pierced and the film container is evacuated toconform it to the article configuration and therefore facilitate neatand structurally secure palletizing of the tiers of articles.

r 1 4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented Sept. 11, 1973 4'Sheets-Sheet 1Thomas L.'Cox David GRodriquez INVENTORS BY M, W/idz & Yankee ATTORNEYSPatented Sept. 11, 1973 3,757,966

4 Sheets-$heet f5 FIG. 3 84 Thomas L. Cox David G. Rodriguez IN VE NTORS llmwld, WM; Mm

A TTORNEYS Patented Sept. 11, 1973 3,757,966

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 5 l'lllilllfl i T /;omas L. Cox David G. Rodriguezy INVENTORS L n Amdd, WM & 17mm ATTORNEYS PALLETIZING APPARATUSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed generally topalletizing apparatus for generally rectangular elongated articles andmore particularly the invention relates to the automatic arrangement forstacking tiers of articles onto a pallet in preselected pattern whicharticles are loosely enclosed within containers of plastic film.

Many articles of commerce are more conveniently handled by beingarrnaged in tiers on pallets for storage and shipment. The arranging ofthe articles in layers on pallets is known as palletizing" and generallyinvolves the forming of the containers into certain patterns in thelayers or tiers so that the articles in one tier are disposed inoverlapping relation with the articles of the next tier immediatelybelow and above thus securing the several layers together andstabilizing the pallet load.

Since most articles to' be palletized are other than square, thepatterning of the pallet layers is frequently accomplished by turningsome of the articles in each layer 90 to the other article in the layerand controlling the turning so that the desired pattern is obtained.

Elongated articles such as generally rectangular rubber bales arefrequently packaged in plastic film bags to prevent sticking of thebales as they are stacked onto pallets. The plastic bags or containersare frequently loosely disposedabout the articles so that the looseplastic allows minor changes in article configuration without causingthe container to burst. Such loose plastic film containers howeverfrequently interfere with proper stacking of the articles to achieve astructurally stable palletized load. Since it is necessary to stack thearticles into close neat tiers, it becomes important to prevent theloose plastic film from interfering as the bales are shifted, rotated orotherwise transported during arrangement thereof into a particular tierpattern.

Elongated articles form a more stable pallet load when stacked inoverlapping relation and therefore it is generally desirable to rotateand shift some of the articles to form a tier arrangement that wouldfacilitate stacking in overlapping mirror image relation. The articlesmay be rotated while resting on a conveyor if the articles are noteasily damaged, but if susceptible to damage by such shifting it isfrequently desirable to raise the article and rotate the same to achieveproper orientation or assembly thereof into desirable tier pattern.Articles may also be rotated relative to other articles of any giventier by conveying the articles onto a pallet that is supported by amovable or rotatable pallet support structure. Commercial acceptabilityof palletizing machines with movable pallet supports may be adverselyaffected by the cost of structure that is capable of supporting andmoving a pallet load of extremely heavy nature. Moreover, it isdifiicult to achieve a desirable mirror image tier pattern whenrotatable or movable pallet support apparatus is employed. Reference ismade to U.S. Pats. Nos. to Sheehan, 3,381,828, and Miller, 3,045,802 inthis regard. Other common apparatus for achieving article orientationare disclosed in U.S. Pats. Nos. to Stiles, 2,862,633, and Pagdin etal., 2,841,433.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide novelpalletizing apparatus that is capable of orienting elongated articlesloosely enclosed within a plastic film container and stacking the sameto mirror image tier patterns.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide novelpalletizing apparatus that is capable of confonning plastic filmcontainers to the configuration of the article being handled tofacilitate orienting and stacking without interference by the plasticmaterials forming the article containers.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novelsuction head structure for palletizing apparatus that is capable ofengaging and lifting articles of irregular surface configuration.

Among the several objects of the present invention is noted thecontemplation of a novel palletizing apparatus provided with a suctionhead structure capable of engaging and lifting articles enclosed withinloose plastic film containers.

An even further object of the present invention concerns the provisionof novel suction head lifting apparatus that is capable ofsimultaneously lifting and moving tiers of articles arranged indiffering patterns.

It is another important object of this inventon to provide novelpalletizing apparatus that is capable of functioning in response toregular or irregular production flow of articles to be palletized.

It is an even further object of this invention to provide novelpalletizing apparatus that iscapable of lifting and orienting selectedarticles to form particular tier patterns without causing damage to anyof the articles being so lifted and oriented.

Another important object of the present invention includes the provisionof novel palletizing apparatus capable of functioning automaticallyresponsive to a tier pattern being formed and also responsive to thepresence of articles being conveyed to the palletizing apparatus.-

It is also an object of this invention to provide novel palletizingapparatus that is capable of being adjusted to produce tier patterns ofvarious design.

Also among the various objects of the present invention is contemplatedthe provision-of novel palletizing apparatus that positively assuresarrangement of tiers of articles into proper orientation beforetransporting the tier and stacking the same onto an adjacent pallet.

Other and further objects, advantages and features of this inventionwill become apparent to one skilled in the art upon consideration of thewritten specification, the attached claims and the annexed drawings. Theform of this invention, which will now be described in detail,illustrated the illustrates principles of the invention but it is to beunderstood that this detailed description is not to be taken as limitingthe scope of the invention. Such description will be referred to byreferencecharacters in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of palletizing apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention and illustrating transfer ofelongated generally rectangular articles therethrough.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the palletizing apparatus of FIG. I,particularly illustrating rotation of selected articles and arrangementof a particular tier pattern prior to movement of the tier for stackingpurposes.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the palletizing apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the tier patterns ofalternating tiers of stacked articles that may be produced by thepalletizing apparatus of this invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic illustration in plan of tier lifting apparatusillustrating vacuum heads that are energized to achieve lifting ofalternating tiers of articles produced by the palletizing apparatus ofthis invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a vacuum head constructed in accordancewith the present invention and illustrating positioning of the vacuumhead above an article that is loosely enclosed within a containercomposed of plastic film.

FIG. 7 is a. sectional view of the vacuum head of FIG. 6 illustratingoperative engagement of the vacuum head with an article and conformingthe loose plastic film containers to the article configuration beforelifting thereof. I

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of electrical control circuitry thatmay be employed to control the palletizing apparatus of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIO Briefly summarized the inventionconcerns the provision of a feed conveyor that is capable of conveyingarticles linearly from a production facility or the like to apparatusfor palletizing the articles into mirror image alternating tiers ofsufficient structural integrity to withstand jarring and shifting thatare prevalent when pallets of stacked articles are transported to or'from storage and transported by various commercial conveyances to afinal destination. Palletizing apparatus according to this invention mayinclude a shuttle conveyor, capable of receiving articles from the feedconveyor and functioning in response to the tier pattern being developedand also in response to the presence of an article, to shift the articlelaterally of its original line of travel or to move the article in itsline of travel to a transfer conveyor carried by the frame work of thepalletizing apparatus. The transfer conveyor is also operative,responsive to the tier pattern being developed and responsive to thepresence of an article received from the shuttle conveyor, to eithercontinue transfer of the article to a tier assembly station or toposition selected ones of the articles for rotation as determined by thetier pattern. Apparatus may be provided for rotating selected articlesand repositioning them on the transfer conveyor after which the transferconveyor will be energized to move the rotated articles into properposition at the tier assembly station. After the proper number ofarticles have been assembled in properly oriented position at the tierassembly station, tier lifting structure that functions, responsive toapparatus that determines proper positioning of the articles, to liftthe assemblied tier and transport it to a loading section where the tieris lowered into place on a pallet in a container or on other tiers ofarticles resting on the pallet or in a container.

The palletizing apparatus of this invention is capable of stackingassembled articles into mirror image tiers upon a pallet to assureoptimum structural integrity of the palletlzed load.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings for a more detailed description of the invention, palletizingapparatus, illustrated generally at 11, may include frame work havingmain vertical supports 12 which may be I-beams, H- beams or the likecooperating with secondary vertical support 14 to support a transferconveyor 16 in substantially horizontal position relative thereto. Thetransfer conveyor 16 is provided with a plurality of rollers 18 that arerotatably powered by a rotary motor 20 supported by a transverseplatform 22 connected to vertical uprights l2 and 14 in any desirablemanner. The motor 20 is most conveniently a rotary electrically poweredmotor operatively connected by a drive belt or drive chain 24 to aroller drive of the transfer conveyor, but within the scope of thisinvention, the motor 30 may be driven by any other desirable motivepower such as hydraulic or pneumatic fluid, for example,

without departing from the spirit or scope of this inven-' tion.

A shuttle conveyor 26 may be operatively carried by the frame work 11 ifdesired or,'as illustrated, may be carried by separate vertical supports27 that position the shuttle conveyor in substantially coextensive rela'tion with the transfer conveyor 16.

The shuttle conveyor 26 includes a plurality of rolls 28 driven by arotary motor 30 drivingly connected to the rolls by a belt or chaindrive member 32. Motor 30 is likewise capable of being powered in anydesirable manner. Cam followers 34 are secured to the movable shuttleconveyor 26 and are received within cam tracks 36 secured to the upperextremities of vertical uprights 27. The motor 30 if desired may bemovable with the shuttle conveyor 26 or, in the alternative, may beimmovably supported by the'shuttle conveyor frame work and operativelyconnected in any desirable manner to impart rotation to drive rollers28.

The shuttle conveyor 26 is normally disposed in a neutral position, asillustrated in FIG. 2, and is capable of moving laterally in eitherdirection within limits defined by the length of the cam tracks 36. Forthe purpose of imparting lateral movement to shuttle conveyor 26, afluid motor 38 may be secured to a transverse structural member 40 toimpart movement to a lever arm 42 connected at 44 to a dependingconnecting member 46 of the shuttle conveyor and pivoted at 48 betweenvertical pivot supports 49 secured to a transverse structural member 50.As the fluid motor 38, which may be either a linear pneumatic orhydraulic motor, is energized, the lever arm 42 will be rotated aboutthe pivot 48 and through-its connection with shuttle conveyor 26 willcause the shuttle conveyor to move laterally to a position aligning anarticle carried thereon with a particular portion of the transferconveyor l6. Operative of shuttle conveyor 26 will be discussed indetail hereinbelow concerning patterned accumulation of articles at atier forming and lifting station and defined on the transfer conveyor16.

For the purposeof conveying articles from a production facility, notshown, to the palletizing apparatus of this invention a feed conveyorshown in broken line at 52 may be employed to move articles in linearmanner to the shuttle conveyor 26. The feed conveyor 52 may be anycommercially acceptable conveyor structure, it only being necessary thatarticles are conveyed serially in properly oriented manner to theshuttle conveyor and that the shuttle conveyor be energized as articlesare moved in close proximity thereto by the feed conveyor. For thispurpose a limit switch LS-l is carried by feed conveyor 52 and isactuated by an article being moved on the feed conveyor to energizemotor 30 of the shuttle conveyor 26 to cause drive rollers 28 to beginrotating.

The frame work of palletizing apparatus 11 may include a pair ofhorizontal structural members 56 supporting a plurality of verticalhangers 57 having transverse horizontal structural elements 58 securedto the lower extremities thereof. A rotator platform 60 is carried infixed relation by structural elements 58 and includes a generallysemicircular arcuate opening 62 through which the operating shaft 64 ofa fluid motor 66 extends. The fluid motor 66, which may be a linearmotor powered by pneumatic or hydraulic fluid, is appropriately securedto an arm 68 that is journaled for pivotable rotation about a pivot 70.A rotary actuator 72 is disposed beneath the rotary platform 60 and iscapabl e, when energized, of driving the arm 68 from a neutral positionas illustrated in FIG. 2. either clockwise or counterclockwise throughan arc of 90 as determined by the arcuate opening.

A vacuum head 74, which may be of the configuration illustratedparticularly in FIGS. 6 and 7, may be secured to the lower extremity ofthe actuating shaft 64 of motor 66 and is disposed for contacting anelongated rectangular article that may be disposed there beneath inposition as illustratedin brokerilines. Fluid motor 66 is operative tomove the vacuum head 74 into engagement with the article and to lift thearticle from the transfer conveyor 16 and, depending upon the tierpattern being formed, rotating the article clockwise or counterclockwise90 and repositioning the article upon the transfer conveyor. Controlledactuation of the article rotating mechanism 65 will be discussed belowin conjunction with movement of articles through the palletizingapparatus to achieve properly oriented tiers for subsequent stacking.

As tiers of articles are accumulated at a tier lifting station definedby the, terminal portion of transfer conveyor 16, a tierliftingmechanism, illustrated generally at 76, may be provided to liftcompleted tiers of articles and to transport the same laterally forstacking onto a pallet or container provided to receive the same. Thehorizontal structural members 56 may appropriately be of l" or H beamconfiguration appropriately oriented in such manner as to define tracks78 that receive a plurality of supporting cam followers or rollers 80journaled for supporting relationship with a tier transporting carriage82 as best illustrated in FIG. 3. A fluid motor 84 that may be a linearhydraulic or pneumatic motor, as desired, may be provided with its base86 secured to the transporting carriage 82 while the extendableactuating shaft 88 of the fluid motor extends through the transportingcarriage downwardly into connection with a transverse channel 90. Ifdesired, a plurality of gussets 92 may be secured to shaft 88 andchannel 90 in any desirable manner to provide a connection of optimumstrength and stability.

A plurality of elongated vacuum head support bars 94 may be secured tothe lower extremity of channel 90 in essentially parallel relation. Eachof the support bars is capable of supporting one or more vacuum heads 96that may be essentially of the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 6 and7.

For the purpose of guiding the tier lifting mechanism 76 duringreciprocation thereof, a support plate 98 may be secured to the cap 100of the fluid motor 84. Guide sleeves 102 and 104 may be secured adjacenttheir upper extremities adjacent the extremities of support plate 98 andmay further be secured adjacent the lower extremities thereof to thetransporting carriage 82.

Guide rods 106 and 108 may extend through the guide sleeves 102 and 104respectively and may be secured at the lower extremities thereof to thetransverse channel 90 of the tier lifting mechanism. Thus, the tierlifting mechanism is guided against lateral shifting or rotation by theguide sleeves 102 and 104 and serves to properly position a completedtier of articles upon a pallet disposed within the tier loading area.

Lateral movement of the transporting carriage 82 may be induced by ahorizontally disposed fluid motor 110 having the base portion 112thereof secured to a transverse structural member 114 retained byhorizontal structural elements 56. The actuating stem 116 of the fluidmotor 110 may be secured to the tier carriage 82 by a connecting bracket118 thereby enabling fluid motor 110, upon extension of the actuatingstem 116, to impart lateral movement of the tier lifting carriage,thereby moving the carriage from the tier lifting station to the tierloading station. After the articles have been transported to the tierloading section, they may be lowered by the motor 84 into engagementwith a waiting pallet or container or may be lowered into engagementwith a previously deposited tier of properly arranged articles at whichtime the tier is released by the vacuum heads and the tier liftingmechanism is raised by the fluid motor 84 and carriage 82 is shifted byfluid motor 110 back to the tier assembly section.

A vacuum pump 120, or other appropriate source of subatmosphericpressure, may be disposed in fixed relation with the tier carriage 82and disposed in fluid communication with vacuum heads 96 through asupply conduit 122 and branch conduits 124 under control of vacuumvalves VV-9 or VV-l0 that are selectively energized to communicate thesource of vacuum to selected ones of the vacuum heads 96.

Referring now to FIGS. 5a and 5b, which diagrammatically illustratepositioning of the various vacuum heads, it will become apparent thatselected ones of the vacuum heads are energized depending upon theparticular tier pattern being developed. FIG. 5a discloses necessary foractivation of vacuum heads necessary for limiting the articles of tierpattern A" while FIG. 5a illustrates only the vacuum conduit structurenecessary for activating the vacuum heads that lift the articles of tierpattern D." Also for purpose of simplicity, the tier lifting apparatusis illustrated as including only the vacuum conduit structures necessaryfor lifting tier pattern A, it being apparent from this disclosure thatthe tier lifting apparatus also includes the vacuum conduit structurenecessary for lifting tier pattern B."

Referring now particularly to FIG. 5a, a vacuum supply conduit 122 isillustrated as extending from vacuum valve VV-9 to a manifold 130. Aplurality of branch conduits 124 extend from the manifold to those ofthe vacuum heads 96 that are disposed centrally of each of theassociated articles of tier pattern A. As discussed above, the vacuumvalve VV-9 is communicated with the vacuum pump 120 through a conduit127.

With reference now to FIG. a, a conduit 129 communicates the vacuum pump120 with a vacuum supply conduit 132 under control of the vacuum valveVV-l0. The vacuum supply conduit is connected to a manifold 134communicating the source of vacuum with a plurality of branch conduits136 connected in any desirable manner to those of the vacuum heads 96that are disposed centrally of associated articles composing tierpattern B."

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 6 and 7, a vacuum head illustratedgenerally at 96 according to the present invention includes an inverteddish-like body structure 140 having an annular groove 142 of generallyfrusto-conical configuration formed therein. A generally frusto-conicalflexible skirt 144 is secured within the groove 142 and defines thelower peripheral portion of the vacuum head. The flexible skirt 144 maybe composed of any one of a number of suitable rubber or rubber-likematerials that may be bonded or molded or otherwise attached to therigid plate-like body structure of the vacuum head. The body structure140 may be provided with a generally planar annular surface 146 disposedfor contact with an article in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7. Theresilient skirt 144, upon engagement with an article, may be deformed asillustrated in FIG. 7 in order to form the peripheral portion of thevacuum head tothe article and thereby establish a secure sealed relationtherewith.

A hub member 148 may be'disposed about a generally spherical portion 150of a support shaft 152 and may be secured to the body 140 in such manneras to define a universal connection with the shaft 152. The threadedshaft 152 extends through an appropriate aperture, formed within one ofthe transverse bars 94, as illustrated particularly in FIGS. 1 and 3,and is secured by a nut 154 received by the threaded shaft 152. Acompression spring 156 surrounds the shaft 152 and is interposed betweenthe hub 148 and bar 94 to allow limited movement of the head 96 towardthe bar 94 to compensate for dimensional differences in the variousarticles that may be simultaneously engaged by the plurality of vacuumheads 91. A vacuum supply conduit 124, which may be a branch conduitextending from a manifold, as illustrated in FIG. 5, or a single vacuumsupply conduit, as shown at 158 in FIG. 1, may be connected to the body140 by threading as illustrated or by any other acceptable method ofconnection.

As discussed above, a loose plastic film container in which an articlesuch as a bale of rubber is enclosed,

tic material of this nature, the vacuum head may be,

provided with at least one and preferably a plurality of rather sharpprojections 160 that may engage the plastic material as the vacuum headis moved into contacting relation with an article that is to be lifted.In FIG. 6, an article is shown to be enclosed within a loose plasticfilm container. As the vaccuum head moves to engaging relation with thearticle, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the projections 160 pierce theplastic film material thereby communicating the interior of the plasticcontainer with the source of sub-atmospheric pressure applied throughconduit 124. When this occurs, the plastic container will be evacuatedthereby causing the plastic container to adhere closely to the articlein the manner illustrated in FIG. 7.

The plastic container, when drawing into conforming relation with thearticle in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7, will not interfere with theability of the palletizing apparatus to place the articles into properlycomposed tiers or otherwise interfere with stacking of the articles ontopallets.

A loading section is defined beneath the tracks 56 and includes aconveyor 162 capable of supporting a pallet or container 164 as the sameis being loaded with properly oriented mirror image tiers of articles. Aplurality of rolls 166, which may or may not'be powered, as desired, maybe provided to facilitate transfer of a loaded pallet from the loadingsection to further handling or storing apparatus. Also, if desired, thepalletizing apparatus may be provided with means to dispense containersor pallets at the tier loading area immediately upon movement of aloaded pallet or container from the tier loading area. Such pallet orcontainer dispensing apparatus is not illustrated, it being obvious thatsuch structure is commercially available.

The palletizing apparatus of this invention may be controlled by limitswitches, step switches, latching relays, and the like that define anelectrical sequence control capable of determining the'article tierpattern to be developed. Designation location and function of thevarious electrical control apparatus will be discussed in conjunctionwith transfer of articles through the palletizing apparatus andarrangement of tiers of articles such as indicated in FIG. 5.

To develop the tier pattern A, identified in FIG. 5a, a generallyrectangular article, such as a bale of rubber, for example, will beconveyed from a production facility by the feed conveyor 52 to thepalletizing apparatus. As the article reaches the terminal portion ofthe feed conveyor 52, it will engage limit switch 1.8-] which functionsto energize the motor 30 to drive the rolls 28 thereby conveying thearticle into contacting relation with limit switch LS-2 mounted on theshuttle conveyor. After the article has cleared the feed conveyor 52,the feed conveyor may be caused to stop until such time as anotherarticle is placed thereon for transfer to the shuttle conveyor. Ofcourse the. feed conveyor may be a continuously powered mechanism ifdesired. Movement of the article into contacting relation with limitswitch LS--2 on the shuttle conveyor will stop the rolls of the shuttleconveyor and actuate linear motor 38 that will, throughits lever arm 42,cause movement of the shuttle conveyor to the left, or downwardly asillustrated in FIG. 2, on cam followers 34 guided by tracks 36. When theshuttle transfer conveyor 26 reaches the terminal point of its movementto the left, the shuttle conveyor will actuate a limit switch LS-3 whichwill start the motor 30 of the shuttle transfer conveyor thereby causingthe rolls 28 again to be rotated to cause movement of the article towardthe transfer conveyor 16. Limit switch LS-3 also energizes the motor 20of transfer conveyor 16 thereby imparting driving movement to rolls 18to cause movement of the article into the tier forming station beneaththe tier lifting mechanism 76 where the first article will engage theupon discharging the first article, has been caused to return to itsneutral position as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The second article will move onto the shuttle conveyor 26 in similarmanner as discussed above regarding the first article and will againinduce shifting of the shuttle conveyor to the left of the line ofarticle travel, energizing limit switch LS-3, that again energizes themotor 30 imparting movement to drive rolls l8 and allowing the secondarticle to move into abutting relation with the first article. Abutment17 of the transfer conveyor will support the first and second articlesmaintaining them in the proper position to form a tier of selectedpattern.

The third article identified by reference character 3 in FIG. 4 willmove from the feed conveyor 52 onto the neutrally positioned shuttleconveyor 26 in the manner discussed above. The third article will engageoverride the shuttle transfer conveyor limit switch LS-2 since thislimit switch will have been deactivated by a stepping switch or othersuitable counting mechanism that may of course be of conventionalnature. The third hole will continue to be driven by the shuttletransfer conveyor rolls 28 and the transfer conveyor rolls 18 until thethird article contacts and actuates a limit switch LS-7 located on theinitial portion of the transfer conveyor 16. Limit switch LS-7, when soactivated, energizes a motor 170 which raises a'stop l72 that isoperative to position the third article in centered position at anarticle rotating station below the vacuum head 74 of the articlerotating mechanism illustrated generally at 65. Motor 170 may be apnuematic or hydraulic linear motor, as illustrated in FIG. I, or in thealternative may be of any other acceptable motor type within the scopeand spirit of the present application.

As the third article engages the stop 172, the article will actuatelimit switch LSll, carried by the stop structure, which is operative todeenergize the motor 20 of transfer conveyor 16 thereby ceasing rotationof the drive rolls 18. Switch LS-ll simultaneously energizes the linearmotor 66 thereby driving the stem 64 and vacuum head 74 downwardly intoengaging relation with the third article. Upon contacting the thirdarticle, the vacuum head will apply predetermined mechanical pressure,determined by the pressure setting of a pressure switch PS-l, at whichtime a vacuum switch VS-l' will be actuated thereby causing a vacuumvalve VV-8 controlled thereby to communicate subatmospheric pressureproduced by pump 120 to the vacuum head 74. After the vacuum has reacheda predetermined pressure setting determined by vacuum switch VS1, thefluid motor 66 will be energized thereby retracting the stem 64 vacuumhead 74 and lifting the third article. The third article will be raisedsufficiently to'cause a limit switch LS-8, carried by the articlerotating mechanism, to be engaged by the vacuum head 74, causing thelimit switch to energize the rotary actuating motor 72, and therebyinduce rotation of the arm 68 about pivot 72 in counterclockwise manner90 to the terminal portion of arcuate opening 62. The rotary arm orplate 68, upon rotating 90 counterclockwise, actuates a limit switchLS-l8 .that causes extension of the linear motor 66 and lowers the thirdarticle onto the rolls 18 of transfer conveyor 16. A limit switch LS-10,mounted on transfer conveyor 16, will be engaged by the article as thethird article contacts the rolls l8 and this limit switch will induceactuation of vacuum valve VV-8 causing the vacuum head 74 to release itsattachement with the third article. Limit switch LS-l when engaged alsoinduces retraction of the linear motor 66 thereby returning the vacuumhead 74 toward the initial position thereof. Limit switch LS-l0 alsoinduces the rotary actuator motor 72to impart clockwise movement to arm68 thereby moving the vacuum head back to the neutral position thereof.The motor 20 of transfer conveyor 16 will also be energized at this timeto induce rotary movement to rolls 18 upon engagement of limit switchLS10 by the third article. After the third article has been released bythe vacuum head, it will be moved forward by the rotating rolls 18 tothe tier lifting station where it will engage abutment 17 which properlypositions the third article in relation to the other articles of tierpattern A.

The fourth and fifth articles of tier pattern A will be delivered fromthe feed conveyor to the shuttle conveyor and will be rotated by thearticle rotating mechanism 65 and transferred to the tier liftingstation in similar manner as discussed above in regard to handling ofthe third article by the palletizing apparatus.

After the tier pattern A has been completed, means may be provided toascertain proper positioning of the articles of a tier before the tieris transported to a pallet loading area which means may take the form ofsix photoelectric cells PE-l through PE-6 which will be properlyactuated if all articles are present and are properly positioned. Afterthe photoelectric cells or other such means have determined the presenceof all articles within an appropriate tier, a solenoid valve SV-5 willbe actuated by the photoelectric cell circuit thereby causingenergization of a pair of article positioners 174 and 176, best shown inFIG. 3, that move elongated plates 178 and 180 into engagingrelationship with adjacent articles to achieveany minor shifting thereofthat is necessary to perfectly align the tier pat tern A" in centeredrelation on the transfer conveyor rolls at the tier lifting station.

The article positioners 178 and 180, upon extending to the aligningposition thereof, may be caused to actuate limit switches LS-19 andLS-20, which cooperatively actuate the fluid motor 84 of tier liftingmechanism 76 thereby causing the tier lifting mechanism to move thevacuum heads 96 thereof into engaging relation with the articles of tierpattern A. The tier lifting mechanism bears against the articles withsufficient mechanical pressure to deform the flexible skirts of thevacuum heads sufficiently to allow engagement between the planarsurfaces 146 of the vacuum heads and the upper surface of the articlesto be lifted. As discussed above, the compression springs of the variousvacuum heads allow each of the vacuum'heads to properly contact theassociated articles even though the articles may be of slightlyirregular height. After'a predetermined mechanical pressure hasbeen-established, a pressure switch PS-Z will be activated and willcause actuating of a vacuum switch VS-2, mounted on support plate 24,which actuates vacuumvalve VV-9 in such manner as to communicate thesource of subatmospheric pressure from continuously running vacuum pumpthrough the appropriate supply conduit and branch conduits to the vacuumheads disposed in centered relation with the articles of the particulartier pattern to be lifted.

For the purpose of lifting the particular articles of the tier pattemindicated at "A" and 8" in FIGS. 5a and 5b, the tier lifting apparatusmay be provided with 10 vacuum heads, five heads being employed forlifting tier pattern A and the remaining five heads to be utilizedduring the lifting operations concerning tier pattern B. The particularvacuum heads for either of the tier patterns A" or B are selected by anelectrical memory circiut of conventional nature which, as indicatedabove, may be a simple electrical stepping switch circuit which actuateseither of the vacuum valves VV-9 or VV-l depending upon the tier patternto be lifted.

After the sub-atmospheric pressure being applied between the vacuumheads and the articles reaches a predetermined pressure setting, asdetermined by vacuum switch VS-2, the vacuum switch will induceactuation of the fluid motor 84 thereby raising the actuating stem 88and lifting the vacuum heads and attached articles of the entire tier.The tier lifting apparatus will be raised until a limit switch LS-l3 iscontacted and functions to energize the linear carriage motor 110 whichextends the drive stem 116 and induces movement of the carriage 82 tothe left as illustrated in FIG. 1, thereby positioning the lifted tierimmediately above a container or pallet 164 disposed at the tier loadingstation. When this position has been reached, the carriage 82 willcontact a limit switch LS-14 carried by one of the horizontal supports56 which causes movement of the linear motor 110 to cease andsimultaneously actuates the fluid motor 84 to cause extension of shaft88 thereby lowering the articles onto a pallet into a container or ontoother articles positioned on the pallet or in the container. At thistime, the fluid motor 84 meets resistance and is signaled to stop itsdownward movement by pressure switch PS-2, also mounted on the supportplate 24. Pressure switch PS-2 transmits an appropriate signal to vacuumswitch VS-2 actuating the vacuum valve VV-9, causing the vacuum heads torelease their connection with the articles of tier pattern A. The vacuumswitch VS-2 simultaneously induces the fluid motor 84 to retract therebyraising the tier lifting apparatus which, when fully retracted, willactuate a limit switch LS-13 that causes the fluid motor 110 to retractits actuating stern 116 thereby moving the carriage 82 back to itsposition over the tier lifting station.

Tier pattern B is formed by the palletizing apparatus responsive to thememory circuit of the apparatus which may, for example, take the form ofa simple conventional stepping switch, or any other desirable electricalstructure that establishes the article handling sequence of theapparatus. a

The sixth and seventh articles will be conveyed from the productionfacility by feed conveyor 52 to shuttle conveyor 26, which at that timewill be disposed in its neutral position, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Uponreaching the terminal portion of feed conveyor 52, the sixth articlewill actuate limit switch LS-1 thereby energizing the motor 30 toshuttle conveyor 26 to induce rotation of the drive rolls 28 therebyreceiving and conveying the article linearly until the article engageslimit switch LS-2 which causes deenergization of the shuttle transferconveyor motor 30 thereby stopping the rolls 28 with the articlepositioned on the shuttle conveyor. Limit switch LS-2 is also operative,when engaged by the article, to induce actuation of the solenoid valveSV-l, thereby causing the linear motor 38 to be energized in such manneras to move the shuttle transfer conveyor 26 to the right of the line ofarticle movement or upwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 2, causing theshuttle conveyor to actuate limit switch LS-4 which is in turn operativeto deenergize 'the linear motor 38 stopping the shuttle transferconveyor at the right extremity at its travel. Limit switch LS-4simultaneously energizes motors 30 and 20 of the shuttle and transferconveyors, respectively, causing drive rolls 28 and 18 to convey thearticle in linear manner to the tier lifting station where its movementis stopped by the abutment 17 to properly position the article relativeto the tier lifting apparatus.

Article 7 of tier pattern B is conveyed from the production facility byfeed conveyor 52 and is received and handled by the palletizingapparatus in similar manner as discussed above regarding handling of thesixth article.

The eighth article will be conveyed to the shuttle conveyor 26 by feedconveyor 52 and engages limit switch LS-l in the manner discussed above,thereby energizing motor 30 of the shuttle conveyor 26 to start rotationof drive rolls 28. The drive rolls 28 will convey the eighth articleonto the shuttle conveyor, which will be disposed in the neutralposition thereof, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Under control of the memorycircuit, limit switch LS-2 will be deactivated and the motor 30 oftransfer conveyor 16 will be energized imparting rotation to drive rolls18. The article will override limit switch LS-Z and will be driven ontothe transfer con veyor 16 in the manner discussed above in regard to thethird, fourth and fifth articles of tier pattern A.

Linear motor 170 will have become energized by the memory circuitthereby raising a movable stop 172 that is engaged by the eighth articleto properly locate the article below vacuum head 74. The articlesimultaneously contacts limit switch LS-ll which energizes solenoidvalve SV-3 which causes activation of the linear motor 66 to drive theshaft 64 and vacuum head 74 downwardly into engagement with the eightharticle located therebeneath.

As the fluid motor 66 fully extends the vacuum head 74 will bear againstthe article with sufficient mechanical pressure to cause the pressureswitch PS-l to energize vacuum switch VS-l, which in turn opens vacuumvalve VV-8, thereby communicating the source of sub- 1 atmosphericpressure with the vacuum head 74. Vacuum valves VV-9 and VV-ltl will bemaintained in the closed condition thereof in response to energizationof vacuum switch VS-2. When the vacuum attraction be tween vacuum head74 and the eighth article is of sufficient magnitude to secure thearticle to the vacuum head, vacuum switch VS-1 will deenergize solenoidvalve SV-3, thereby inducing the fluid motor 66 to retract which causeraising of the vacuum head and the article.

As the fluid motor 66 retracts, limit switch LS-8 will be contacted bythe vacuum head 74 and will deenergize solenoid valve SV-2 andsimultaneously energize solenoid valve SV-4 which, under control of thememory circuit, is effective to induce controlled rotation of rotaryactuator 72 causing clockwise rotation of arm 68 thereby moving thevacuum head 74 through an arc of defined by arcuate opening 62 inplatform 60.

As the article rotating mechanism reaches the terminal portion of itsrotary movement the limit switch LS-l7 will be actuated therebyenergizing solenoid valve SV-3 which energizes the linear motor 66cansing movement of shaft 64 and vacuum head 74 downwardly to lower thearticle onto the transfer conveyor 16. Upon engaging the transferconveyor, the article also actuates limit switch LS-9 thereby inducingmovement of the vacuum valve VV-8 to a position breaking communicationof the vacuum supply with vacuum head 74 and releasing the connection ofvacuum head 74 with the article. Limit switch LS-9 also simultaneouslyenergizes pressure switch PS-l and solenoid valves SV-3 and SV-4 whichinduce the linear motor 66 to raise vacuum head 74 to the neutralposition thereof. As the vacuum head 74 is being raised and rotated backto the neutral position thereof, limit switch LS-9 will simultaneouslyinduce energization of transfer conveyor motor 20 thereby starting therolls 18 to convey the eighth article linearly into engagement withabutment 17 and to advance a following article onto the palletizingapparatus, Articles 9 and will be transferred, rotated clockwise andmoved into proper position to form the tier pattern B in similar manneras discussed above regarding the eighth article.

After tier B has been completed at the tier forming station asdetermined by photoelectric circuit including photoelectric cells PE-lthrough PIE-6 which, after making such determination, will energizesolenoid valve SV-5 that in turn will energize positioner motors I74 and176 causing article positioners 178 and 180 to move outwardly to achieveany minor alignment or centering necessary to properly position each ofthe articles beneath the appropriate vacuum head of the tier liftingapparatus. As the linear mo'tors 74 and 176 extend, the motors willactuate limit switches LS-19 and LS-20 that achieve actuation ofsolenoid valve SV -6 that induces the fluid motor'84 to extend, therebylowering the vacuum head of the tier lifting apparatus into engagementwith the articles located therebeneath. The vacuum heads will engage thearticles with sufficient mechanical pressure to deform the flexibleskirts thereof to achieve positive sealed relation with the articles toensure adherence of the articles to the vacuum heads. As the mechanicalpressure' applied by linear fluid motor 84 reaches sufficient magnitude,the pressure switch PS-2 will be actuated, thereby energizing vacuumswitchVS-2 which in turn energizes vacuum valve VV-lll and ensuresdeenergization of vacuum valve VV-9 to selectively energize appropriatevacuum heads to achieve lifting of tier pattern B. The tier lifting andcarriage transporting structure will then beactuated to move the liftedtier laterally and to lower the same into receiving relation on a palletor container in the same manner as discussed above regarding tierpattern A" after which the articles of the tier will be released and thetier lifting apparatus will be moved back to its position above the tierforming section as discussed' above.

After tier patterns A and 8" have been formed and moved to an awaitingpallet or container, the stepping switch, or other memory circuitmechanism, will be returned to the starting position thereof therebydisposing the palletizing apparatus for the formation of another tierpattern A" followed by tier pattern B,' and so on. After the tiers ofarticles have reached a predetermined number, the fully loaded pallet orconlain er will be moved selectively or automatically by conveyor I62away from the tier loading area. Another container or pallet then may bepositioned manually or automatically on conveyor 162 at the tier loadingarea to receive further tiers of properly oriented articles.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of electrical circuitry that may beemployed for control of the palletizing apparatus of this invention. Thecircuitry is basically controlled by a memory circuit, that may be asindicated above, be a simple stepping switch capable of mounting thearticles as they are moved serially through the palletizing apparatus bythe various conveying mechanisms thereof and causing the palletizingapparatus to manipulate the various articles to achieve properly formedtier patterns that may be subsequently stacked in structurally stablemanner onto a pallet or into a container. Thestepping switch, ifdesired, may be of the type manufactured and sold commercially as the MTSeries Step switch by the Bliss Eagle Signal Division of the E. W. BlissCompany of 736 Federal Street, Davenport, Iowa, 52803.

The stepping switch, or other appropriate memory circuit device, may beelectrically connected to appropriate article feed conveyor circuitry,including limit switches that may, if desired be of the typemanufactured by the Micro Switch Division of Honeywell, Freeport,Illinois, 6l032 and identified in the Micro Switch Swtich InstallationSheet No. PK 81 l 10.

Various solenoid valves that may be employed to control variousfunctions of the article palletizing apparatus may be of the generaltype sold commercially as Series I-IC500 by Hannifin Pneumatic Divisionof Par ker l-lannifin, of Des Plains, Illinois.

Where vacuum valves'may be employed to produce desirable vacuum controlfunctions, it may be desirable to employ solen'oid actuated valves suchas those identitled in Bulletin 8030 of the Automatic Switch Company, of50-56 Hanover Road, Florham Park, New Jersey, 07932.

The stepping switch, or other memory circuit, is electrically connectedto appropriate article feed conveyor circuitry, shuttle conveyorcircuitry as well as electrical circuitry for the apparatus provided forrotation of selected ones of the articles. The memory circuitry is alsodisposed in controlling relation with circuitry causing the forming andlifting of tiers of articles as well as the circuitry provided forachieving conveyance and stacking of the tiers of articles. 1

An inspection circuit is provided, that may include photoelectric cells,for example, such as those manufactured by General Electric and soldcommercially under Catalogue No. P8510. The inspection circuit iselectrically communicated with tier forming and tier lifting circuitryto assure the formation and transfer of completed tiers of properlyoriented articles. g

In view of the foregoing, it is'apparent that I have provided novelpalletizing apparatus that is capable of orienting elongated articlesloosely enclosed within plastic film containers and stacking the sameinto tier patterns of alternating mirror image relation. The ability ofmy apparatus to achieve effective palletizing of such containers isenhanced by the capability of the apparatus to conform plastic filmcontainers to the configuration of the article being handled tofacilitate orienting and stacking without interference by any looseplastic film material in which the articles may be enclosed. Thepalletizing apparatus of my invention is re sponsive to the presence ofarticles to be stacked in tiers and is also responsive to a memorycircuit that may be a simple stepping switch of conventional nature orother appropriate electrical circuit apparatus, thereby lending thepalletizing apparatus a capability of functioning properly even thoughthe production flow of articles to be stacked may be irregular.

While my invention has been described herein as being particularlydesigned for development of specific tier patterns, it is not intendedthat my invention be limited to these specific tier apparatus, it beingobvious that minor adjustment of the palletizing apparatus will beeffective to cause the apparatus to produce tiers of articles ofdifferent tier configuration and to stack the same onto pallets or intocontainers without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Also, my invention is not to be in any manner limited by the nature ofthe article to be palletized. The invention will serve to palletize bagsof material, cans, or any other articles capable of being lifted byvacuum head apparatus. It is apparent, therefore, that my invention iswell adapted to attain all of the object hereinabove set forth togetherwith other objects and advantages that will become obvious and inherentfrom the description of the apparatus itself.

It will be understood that certain combinations and subcombinations areof utility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theappended claims. As many possible embodiments may be made of theinvention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it is tobe, understood that all matters herein set forth or as shown in theaccompanying drawings are to be'interpreted as illustrative and not in alimited sense.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for palletizing elongated generally rectangular articlesinto multi-article tiers of predetermined pattern comprising:

a framework;

a powered feed conveyor disposed adjacent said framework for conveyingarticles serially in linear manner from a production facility to saidpalletizing apparatus;

a shuttle conveyor carried by said framework and being operative totransport articles serially in linear manner from said feed conveyor,said shuttle conveyor being normally disposed in a neutral position andbeing selectively movable laterally to either side of said neutralposition to orient selected ones of said articles laterally with respectto the original line of movement thereof;

means responsive to a tier pattern being formed and further responsiveto the presence of one of said articles for selectively moving saidshuttle conveyor;

a transfer conveyor being carried by said framework and being operativeto convey said articles linearly from said shuttle conveyor, one portionof said transfer conveyor defining a rotator station and another portionof said transfer conveyor defining a tier lifting station;

article orienting means being carried by said framework above saidtransfer conveyor at said rotator station;

pivot means being defined on said article orienting means and beingdisposed centrally of the linear path of said serially conveyedarticles;

article engaging and lifting means carried by said article orientingmeans and being offset upstream from said pivot and normally beingdisposed at a neutral position, said article engaging and lifting meansbeing vertically reciprocatable to engage selected ones of said articlesand to lift said articles from said transfer conveyor, said articleengaging and lifting means being selectively rotatable clockwise orcounterclockwise from said neutral position in an arc of about saidpivot inducing compound lateral and translational movement to saidselected articles in accordance with the tier pattern being developed;

tier lifting and transporting means carried by said framework in thevicinity of said tier lifting station and being operative in response tothe presence of a completed tier to lift the tier from the transferconveyor, move the tier linearly to clear said transfer conveyor andlower the tier to stack the same onto a pallet; and

means responsive to the tier pattern being developed and furtherresponsive to the presence of an article in association therewith forselecting the particular arcuate movement of said article engaging andlifting means. 7

2. The apparatus recited in claim 1 including:

vacuum head means being carried by said article lifting means and beingoperative to secure said article to said article lifting means.

3. The apparatus recited in claim 2: said tier lifting apparatuscomprising a movable carriage; a plurality of vacuum heads being carriedby said carriage, part of said plurality of vacuum heads being employedto lift a tier of particular pattern, the remainder of said vacuum headsbeing employed to lift a tier of different pattern; and v means forselectively activating said plurality of vacuum heads depending upon thetier pattern to be lifted and transported.

4. The apparatus recited in claim 3:

said means for selectively activating said plurality of vacuum headscomprising a source of subatmospheric pressure;

a first vacuum system communicating said source of sub-atmosphericpressure to said part of said plurality of vacuum heads;

a second vacuum system communicating said source of sub-atmosphericpressure with said remainder of said plurality of vacuum heads;

vacuum valve means for each of said first and second vacuum systems andbeing operative responsive to a particular tier pattern for activatingsaid part of said vacuum systems and responsive to a different tierpattern for activating said remainder of said vacuum systems.

i t i t Patent No. 3 I 757 r 966 A Dated pgeg 11 I 1973 M Thomas L. Cox,David G. Rodriguez It is certified that error appears in theabove-idcntificd p-txtcnt and that said Letters; Patent are. herebycorrected as shown below:

Col. 1, line 11, "arrnaged" should read arranged Col. 2, line 50, thewords "illustrated the" should be omitted.

line 50, after "illustrates" insert the general Col. 4, line 48,"Operative" should read -Operation.

Col. 9, line 19, "hole" should read -bale'-.

Col..ll, line 3, "circiut" should read'--circuit- Col. 14, line 19, theword "Swtich" should be omitted.

Col. 15, line 2, "apparatus" should read -patterns-.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of June 197 (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FIETCHER',JR. C MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

1. Apparatus for palletizing elongated generally rectangular articlesinto multi-article tiers of predetermined pattern comprising: aframework; a powered feed conveyor disposed adjacent said framework forconveying articles serially in linear manner from a production facilityto said palletizing apparatus; a shuttle conveyor carried by saidframework and being operative to transport articles serially in linearmanner from said feed conveyor, said shuttle conveyor being normallydisposed in a neutral position and being selectively movable laterallyto either side of said neutral position to orient selected ones of saidarticles laterally with respect to the original line of movementthereof; means responsive to a tier pattern being formed and furtherresponsive to the presence of one of said articles for selectivelymoving said shuttle conveyor; a transfer conveyor being carried by saidframework and being operative to convey said articles linearly from saidshuttle conveyor, one portion of said transfer conveyor defining arotator station and another portion of said transfer conveyor defining atier lifting station; article orienting means being carried by saidframework above said transfer conveyor at said rotator station; pivotmeans being defined on said article orienting means and being disposedcentrally of the linear path of said serially conveyed articles; articleengaging and lifting means carried by said article orienting means andbeing offset upstream from said pivot and normally being disposed at aneutral position, said article engaging and lifting means beingvertically reciprocatable to engage selected ones of said articles andto lift said articles from said transfer conveyor, said article engagingand lifting means being selectively rotatable clockwise orcounterclockwise from said neutral position in an arc of 90* about saidpivot inducing compound lateral and translational movement to saidselected articles in accordance with the tier pattern being developed;tier lifting and transporting means carried by said framework in thevicinity of said tier lifting station and being operative in response tothe presence of a completed tier to lift the tier from the transferconveyor, move the tier linearly to clear said transfer conveyOr andlower the tier to stack the same onto a pallet; and means responsive tothe tier pattern being developed and further responsive to the presenceof an article in association therewith for selecting the particulararcuate movement of said article engaging and lifting means.
 2. Theapparatus recited in claim 1 including: vacuum head means being carriedby said article lifting means and being operative to secure said articleto said article lifting means.
 3. The apparatus recited in claim 2: saidtier lifting apparatus comprising a movable carriage; a plurality ofvacuum heads being carried by said carriage, part of said plurality ofvacuum heads being employed to lift a tier of particular pattern, theremainder of said vacuum heads being employed to lift a tier ofdifferent pattern; and means for selectively activating said pluralityof vacuum heads depending upon the tier pattern to be lifted andtransported.
 4. The apparatus recited in claim 3: said means forselectively activating said plurality of vacuum heads comprising asource of sub-atmospheric pressure; a first vacuum system communicatingsaid source of sub-atmospheric pressure to said part of said pluralityof vacuum heads; a second vacuum system communicating said source ofsub-atmospheric pressure with said remainder of said plurality of vacuumheads; vacuum valve means for each of said first and second vacuumsystems and being operative responsive to a particular tier pattern foractivating said part of said vacuum systems and responsive to adifferent tier pattern for activating said remainder of said vacuumsystems.